Thinking about swapping 50L for Zeiss Primes...

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Archive 2009 · Thinking about swapping 50L for Zeiss Primes...

AbramG
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p.1 #1 · Thinking about swapping 50L for Zeiss Primes...

So let me first state that I really love my 50L.
So let me first state that I really hate my 50L. (sometimes)

Ok that's out of the way.

I have been contemplating the idea of going back to a 35L + 50 f/1.4 vs just my 50L for some time, I don't know if I would do it in the immediate future, but it's something I've thought about.

The other thing I thought about was the possibility of selling my 50L and buying the Zeiss 35mm f/2 and 50mm f/1.4 in ZE mount.

I really enjoy shooting the 50mm FL, however I also really enjoy the 35mm FL and I actually miss it quite a bit.

I have been very very eager to try out the Zeiss primes and I have no problems using manual focus (as I have my f/2.8 zooms for all my AF needs) I also really like the idea of a couple MF primes for video work as well.

What are your thoughts on this?

Dec 29, 2009 at 02:03 AM

I Am Luna
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p.1 #2 · Thinking about swapping 50L for Zeiss Primes...

Do it. What have you got to lose?

Dec 29, 2009 at 03:12 AM

zombii
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p.1 #3 · Thinking about swapping 50L for Zeiss Primes...

Don't sell the 50L. The 50 f/1.4 can't touch it. I've got both. If you have a good copy of the 50L (I do), hang onto it. You'll have sellers remorse because not all 50L's are created equal. Most are very sharp but not all auto-focus well. If you decide you want to buy another one, you may or may not get one that is a good one. I've seen a lot of bad mouthing of the 50L on this forum but still haven't seen anything that's actually better and I've tried several.

Dec 29, 2009 at 06:27 AM

AbramG
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p.1 #4 · Thinking about swapping 50L for Zeiss Primes...

Yeah I'm on my second one actually because I regretted selling it the first time. That's why this thread is hypothetical

Dec 29, 2009 at 07:03 AM

philber
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p.1 #5 · Thinking about swapping 50L for Zeiss Primes...

Abram, the 50L and Zeiss ZE 50 f:1.4 are in a way almost opposites, meaning that they are optimized very diffrently. 50L is very happy wide open, close up, and maximises background blur. ZE 50 is least happy wide open, close up, and it does not maximise background blur. On the other hand, it is supreme from f:2.0 down, shooting at 6' or more.
So selling the 50L for this ZE 50 is a good way to get seller's remorse.
A logical way to go would be to buy the ZE 35, a superb lens, and a focal length you don't yet own. Then you will get a feel for the Zeiss rendition, and you will have a choice.
If your plan was to sell the 50L to fund the purchase of the 2 Zeiss primes, you could consider buying a C/Y 35 f:2.8. There are lots of them around, and they are quite cheap, even with an adapter. While it is not the very best lens around, it will give you a typical sampling of Zeiss rendition, 3D and all.

Dec 29, 2009 at 07:48 AM

AbramG
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p.1 #6 · Thinking about swapping 50L for Zeiss Primes...

Good tips, thank you philber,

It seems like it would be wisest for me to just hold on to the 50L and stop trying to change lenses so often! I'm never settled lol!

Dec 29, 2009 at 07:55 AM

philber
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p.1 #7 · Thinking about swapping 50L for Zeiss Primes...

Actually, if this is your case, some cheap C/Y primes might help give you more choices. A 50mm f:1.7 will hardly be a painful buy, and will do things a 50L can't. Some of the finest members here have one and enjoy it greatly despite the lack of apparent "glamour".

Dec 29, 2009 at 08:07 AM

malohnes
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p.1 #8 · Thinking about swapping 50L for Zeiss Primes...

How often do you use your 50L wide open? You might also consider the Zeiss 50 f/2.0. it handles the macro issue much better and is sharp wide open. Bokeh is better as well. However, I happen to like my Zeiss 50 /f1.4 a lot and I rarely shoot wide open. I happen to like the creamy/haze effect when I do shoot wide open. I like having options to choose from so I hope this helps; it just depends on what you shoot or what you are trying to achieve with the 50L that you are not getting. Every lens draws differently.

Philber's comments make a ton of sense to me, though. Good luck!

Dec 29, 2009 at 08:20 AM

nazdravanul
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p.1 #9 · Thinking about swapping 50L for Zeiss Primes...

Ok , so I just got my 50 ZF Makro-Planar (f2), mounted with an adapter on my 5d2. Jeeeeeeesus, it simply rocked my world. And I have owned and used extensively every single L prime from 14 to 300 (200 2 IS and 300 2.8 IS included). Every single one of them (except for the new TS lenses).
I had a really good copy of the 50 L (I had tried 3 copies over more than one year span, before purchasing). It simply can't touch the 50 Makro-Planar, under any circumstances. No way. The Zeiss is in whole different league.
Please bear in mind I'm talking about the 50 Makro-Planar not about the 50 1.4 Zeiss, which is quite a different animal , that I personally don't really like.

Dec 29, 2009 at 09:13 AM

adamM
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p.1 #10 · Thinking about swapping 50L for Zeiss Primes...

If you want to have some fun and mess around with new lenses, here's some others to try:

Pentax SMC 50mm f1.4 This lens has punch, it's a little 'Zeiss-y' but still unique. Cracking lens, and cheap.

Pentax Super-Takumar 50mm f1.4. Sort of a 'baby 58mm f1.2 rokkor' Nice and dreamy wide open, decent stopped down. Cheap cheap cheap (i got mine for $40). One of my fav lenses.

Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 35mm f2.4 Still a bit under the radar and what a lens. Nice macro feature too.

If you're lucky you could get all three for a little more than the price of a EF 50mm f1.4

Dec 29, 2009 at 06:31 PM

freaklikeme
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p.1 #11 · Thinking about swapping 50L for Zeiss Primes...

I replaced the 50L with an Oly 50/1.2 and haven't regretted it for a minute. I lost measured fractional aperture stops, auto aperture and focus, and added a hair more green and purple fringing in the OOF areas wide open making the switch. But I retained color rendition and drawing style, two things that made me want a 50L in the first place, lost the focus shift problem, lost a little bag weight, and put about 700 bucks in my pocket (which eventually went toward the purchase of my beloved 35 'cron). I'm quite pleased.

Of the 1.4's, I've never shot with a bad copy (Sigma, Canon FD and USM, Nikon AI-S, Pentax SMC, Leica R, Zeiss ZE) and they all have their good and bad qualities, but I didn't find any of them all that spectacular. The Zeiss stood out for it's resolution and unique drawing style, the Leica for it's water-color bokeh (nearly as good as the 80 'lux), but none of them showed me anything that makes me regret keeping the Oly as my only 50.

Dec 29, 2009 at 07:04 PM

zombii
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p.1 #12 · Thinking about swapping 50L for Zeiss Primes...

AbramG wrote:
Yeah I'm on my second one actually because I regretted selling it the first time. That's why this thread is hypothetical

Ironically, it was your Sigma 50mm that I bought because I thought I could do without the 50L, and wound up with another one. Go figure.

I've always liked 35mm though, that was my only "regret" of selling my 35L in the first place.

I missed in your original post that you were thinking about a ZE 50 rather than a T* 50. I have a T* 50 and that's what I was talking about. I agree with philber's comments except that the T* 50 is not as good as the 50L even at distance for me. I do think that if you don't have any Zeiss lenses, you need to try one. I think you'll like most of them but it's a slippery slope from there.

As for 35's, I bought a 35L before I got into manual lenses. It's an excellent lens and very good for shooting in fluid situations where manual focus is difficult. I have not yet gotten a Zeiss or Leica 35 and I'm having a hard time believing they're as much better as some of the claims on this board indicate. If a good one was half the price of the 35L, I might consider it but that's not the case for any of the ones of comparable speed that I've looked at.

Dec 29, 2009 at 07:55 PM

zombii
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p.1 #13 · Thinking about swapping 50L for Zeiss Primes...

As for other 50 possibilities, the Voigtlander Nokton 58mm f/1.4 got a very good review from diglloyd.com and it's due out in EOS mount any day now. Price will probably be about the same as the Voigitlander 40mm in EOS mount ($449).

Dec 29, 2009 at 08:02 PM

zombii
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p.1 #14 · Thinking about swapping 50L for Zeiss Primes...

Just to add another choice to your quandary, there's also the Contax N 50mm. Not cheap by the time you get it converted but some good example pics in this thread.

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/850075

Dec 29, 2009 at 08:10 PM

gasrocks
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p.1 #15 · Thinking about swapping 50L for Zeiss Primes...

Can we mention the Rokkor 58/1.2 (even though some mod might have to be done for FF use?)

Dec 29, 2009 at 10:30 PM

mawz
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p.1 #16 · Thinking about swapping 50L for Zeiss Primes...

zombii wrote:

I missed in your original post that you were thinking about a ZE 50 rather than a T* 50. I have a T* 50 and that's what I was talking about. I agree with philber's comments except that the T* 50 is not as good as the 50L even at distance for me. I do think that if you don't have any Zeiss lenses, you need to try one. I think you'll like most of them but it's a slippery slope from there.

All the ZE series lenses are T* coated, including both of the 50's.

Dec 29, 2009 at 11:29 PM

hauxon
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p.1 #17 · Thinking about swapping 50L for Zeiss Primes...

I miss my 50L.

Dec 30, 2009 at 02:02 AM

zombii
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p.1 #18 · Thinking about swapping 50L for Zeiss Primes...

mawz wrote:
zombii wrote:

I missed in your original post that you were thinking about a ZE 50 rather than a T* 50. I have a T* 50 and that's what I was talking about. I agree with philber's comments except that the T* 50 is not as good as the 50L even at distance for me. I do think that if you don't have any Zeiss lenses, you need to try one. I think you'll like most of them but it's a slippery slope from there.

All the ZE series lenses are T* coated, including both of the 50's.

Ok, what I meant was the C/Y version.

Dec 30, 2009 at 04:16 AM

Yakim Peled
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p.1 #19 · Thinking about swapping 50L for Zeiss Primes...

nazdravanul wrote:
I had a really good copy of the 50 L (I had tried 3 copies over more than one year span, before purchasing). It simply can't touch the 50 Makro-Planar, under any circumstances. No way. The Zeiss is in whole different league.

That is very impressive. If I'd love the 50mm FL I'd sure give it a try.

Happy shooting,
Yakim.

Dec 30, 2009 at 02:36 PM

snowboarder
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p.1 #20 · Thinking about swapping 50L for Zeiss Primes...

nazdravanul wrote:
Ok , so I just got my 50 ZF Makro-Planar (f2), mounted with an adapter on my 5d2. Jeeeeeeesus, it simply rocked my world. And I have owned and used extensively every single L prime from 14 to 300 (200 2 IS and 300 2.8 IS included). Every single one of them (except for the new TS lenses).
I had a really good copy of the 50 L (I had tried 3 copies over more than one year span, before purchasing). It simply can't touch the 50 Makro-Planar, under any circumstances. No way. The Zeiss is in whole different league.
Please bear in mind I'm talking about the 50 Makro-Planar not about the 50 1.4 Zeiss, which is quite a different animal , that I personally don't really like.

would you mind posting some examples?
I'm thinking of swapping my 50L with the 50 Makro ZE as it's finally available...
Does it bother you that it takes a few rotations to get from the close-up to infinity?

Jan 08, 2010 at 02:58 AM

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